45 foot shipping container rooftop solar.

[time4t]

Hi, A couple of years ago I decided to look into a grid tied solar system. I looked at our heritage home and the roof was nearly 45 degree pitch roof, and falling off that had zero appeal. Then I looked at our 45 foot shipping container and got thinking. It is flat on the top to stand, I can fabricate brackets to angle to whatever I want to, and it is facing almost perfectly to the south. I ordered a starter component kit with 10 of 295 watt panels, 5 of 600watt micro inverters, a tiny data logger, rails and panel clamps. Then I fabricated 1.5" x 1.5 " steel tube to make the angled uprights. 2" x 2" steel angle drilled and bolted to the top of the shipping container to secure it with lots of sealer between the angle and the shipping container. Originally, I just wanted to drop my hydro bill to get below the 2nd tier more expensive rate but after it was all working, I decided to expand as that was really easy. So, I added another 14 panels of 320 watts each and 7 more micro inverters to reach a total of 7.3 Kw. Micro inverters are nice as they convert the solar panel DC to 240 volt AC at the back of the panel, so expansion is as simple as plugging in more in a daisy chain up to 7 micro inverters in a row. Then, make a new string and connect in parallel in the electrical box fastened to the shipping container. I trenched and tech cabled the wiring underground to the house where it goes to a dedicated breaker box and then directly into the main breaker box. It has been working great with only a few small issues for over a year now. The best output day I have had was over 40kw back in September. As the days had been getting shorter for months at that time, I am sure I can beat that next spring/summer.

 

[iamrich]

You have no issues with wind? That would sail like a kite here in Austin...

 

[time4t]

No, the shipping container is pretty much packed with the wife's heavy stuff, so it is not really going anywhere. All 13 support brackets have had 6 threaded holes drilled into the top of the container with the end ones nylock bolted with large washers. Where we are, we either get a southern wind or northern wind. We have had a few really bad wind storms blow through, enough to tear tarps off our trailer and our portable car garage, but never did anything to the panels. The support brackets are spaced every 3.5 feet and everything is bolted with stainless bolts and nylocks.

 

[iamrich]

Pretty cool setup!

 

[time4t]

Thanks, as I am not an electrician, it was a bit of a steep learning curve, especially the data logger software. It is a Chinese manufacturer and the manual is quite vague as some things do not translate well. But, it works well once everything is set up. What I did find is that suppliers do not have a lot of technical knowledge, and even when they have their own installation people, they really do not want to help DYIers. Strange attitude when you just spend thousands of dollars in components from them. If I was to do it again, I would get a business licence, set up a commercial account with the wholesaler, and take an installation course. The markup I found was over 100%, so doing it myself, I could do it for half of what the components cost me.

 

[2009Bounder2020]

i do warehousing , we store for a company that makes 20 foot containers that can be shipped to sites and generate serious power 500KW+ units.

The container with the solar gear, batterys racking (the racking is basically ladders so the installers climb up and assemble top to ground for each column... the forklift we use can do up to 52000lbs some of them need all of it. no wind is knocking them over

 

[drunkenmugsy]

i do warehousing , we store for a company that makes 20 foot containers that can be shipped to sites and generate serious power 500KW+ units.

The container with the solar gear, batterys racking (the racking is basically ladders so the installers climb up and assemble top to ground for each column... the forklift we use can do up to 52000lbs some of them need all of it. no wind is knocking them over

I agree. A 40ft container itself is around 4.5 tons. It will be ok. I am looking at doing similar with a 20ft container. It has a tare weight of around 2-2.5 tons.

 

[Choco]

Wowser those left pictured panels look especially vulnerable. That's a big wind sail you have there.
Panel frames have specific clamping zones as specified by the manufacturer, those will be the first to go.
No offence intended but this setup would be a hit on the facebook page 'crap solar'
I'd be seriously concerned about this array taking off...

 

[Lt.Dan]

I agree, that thing is looking for trouble!

I wouldn't be worried about the shipping container at all, your brackets sound sturdy but I haven't seen them, I would be worried about the panels themselves! The frames are strong, but not unbreakable...

 

[SolarPrep]

If you look at a wind load chart, even a modest array can require 30"-36" diameter concrete 9' deep for a 6" pole. I realize the container isn't a pole, but with a big wind, the weight of that container means nothing. I'd at least weld steel brackets on the the 4 corners, and at the minimum get some ground augers driven, and anchor that thing down.

We were hit with a derecho here last year that packed winds from 90-140 mph. We saw heavily loaded semis blown right off the highway like tumbleweeds. You need to take a serious look at wind loading.